The girl between his lips, her twin tails hanging limply by her cheeks like powerless willow branches.
Alain recalled her bright eyes tightly closed in his memory, her body weakly leaning against the iron pole, fragile like an exquisite work of art.
Alain ignored the remaining time in his mind...and glanced distractedly at the iron pole not far away, and the button on it.
After a few movements at the contact terminal, he quickly walked toward the girl, supporting her shoulders to help her stand.
"Cough, wake up! Don't sleep."
Alain patted her chubby cheeks, and the girl's bright eyes met his pupils, wrinkling slightly.
"Wu..."
After a while, a faint voice came through. She slightly opened her eyes.
Her deep blue eyes were drowsy, carrying a hint of emptiness and confusion as she gazed at the person before her.
Her thin lips parted like silkworm threads, spitting out a few words,
"Who are you...?"
Hearing this, Alain smiled. "I'm your manager."
"Manager..."
She murmured the words softly.
Alain looked at her like this and voiced his doubts. "How did you get out from under the iron railing?"
He remembered what "Cute Mita" had said: the real one was under the iron pole and would only come out after pressing the button.
The girl didn't answer. She widened her eyes and clutched her chest uncomfortably,
coughing heavily twice.
"Cough, cough cough!"
Her coughs were so violent it seemed like they would bring up her internal organs, making Alain worry.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine... There's something more important now. I must tell you."
"Something more important?" The young man frowned slightly and saw the girl beckoning him.
Alain supported her over.
He could clearly hear her warm breaths panting in his ear, weak like whispers on paper in the wind.
"Hoo, hoo... I, I want to tell you..."
Alain listened intently to her words, but besides the soft breaths, he heard nothing else.
What was this... Didn't she say there was something important to tell me? Why play coy at a time like this?
"..."
Wait, playing coy?
Alain's brows furrowed instantly, lightning flashing through his mind with a few words:
Stalling for time.
Whoa!
His ears didn't hear the "important message" from Cute Mita.
Instead, there was a crisp sound of mechanical commands colliding,
Buzz buzz buzz! Buzz buzz buzz! Buzz buzz buzz!
As if something had been triggered, a light and pleasant chime arrived before her so-called "important matter."
At this moment, her low breaths grew fainter and fainter. The previously clear pants seemed fake... Her hooked breaths in Alain's ear—
like feathers in the wind.
Alain seemed to see her mischievous smile after the prank.
And "Cute Mita" finally spoke:
"Time's up—"
Clack!
As her words fell, something not far away seemed to suddenly snap, followed by a sharp gasp.
Alain instinctively turned his head. A small patch of ground around the iron pole sank slightly...
Without support, the iron pole fell with gravity, like the descent of Damocles' sword hanging in the sky—
Whoosh!
There came a muffled sound... like a fruit pierced by a chopstick.
"?"
Alain's eyes widened. He seemed to see the blood beneath her surging like a stream, gurgling out.
Dripping across the especially close distance between him and the iron pole, then dripping into... the palace of death.
The girl in his arms acted as if nothing had happened, gently patting Alain's shoulder.
Seeing no reaction from him, she laboriously shifted her body, leaving his embrace.
"Hmph... How pitiful, Alain." She helplessly spread her hands. "Life is like that. You might be on the verge of success right in front of you, only for a sudden stumbling block to crush your fate to pieces."
Seeing him still dazedly staring at the iron pole, Cute Mita tilted her head slightly.
"Oh? What's wrong with your mood? Your mental resilience is really weak."
The girl casually sidled up, warmly hugging his head.
Her chin rested on his head, her warm hand stroking every inch of Alain's hair.
"Don't worry, Alain. Though the sound was scary, she's just..."
She laughed, her lips pressing to Alain's ear, whispering softly,
"Like this, with a 'hmph,' her head... explodes~"
Hmph!
As Cute Mita's words fell, an explosion roared in Alain's ears simultaneously.
Like ripe fruit hitting the ground, gas bursting, fresh meat frying...
As if a torrential downpour: hot pulp splattering drop by drop across his body, soaking half his pants and clothes.
He dazedly raised his hand, picking up a drop rolling down his face, focusing on his fingertip.
That drop of rain was bright red, translucent... revealing the whorls of his fingertip.
Alain turned to where "Cute Mita" had been. She was gone, leaving only a gruesome scene and that head still bearing a ghostly smile and complete profile, lying quietly on the ground.
With those hollow, lifeless eyes staring at him.
Not even blinking.
So that's it... Using the real Cute Mita's death to deliver one final blow?
As he locked eyes with the dead head, a girl's voice drifted from behind.
"A-Alain..."
Her tone trembled, like leaves scattered by the wind.
Alain didn't answer her. She hurried over, gazing at the severed head.
"Cute Mita... she, she...?"
Cool Mita looked at the scene: blood-soaked ground, the remaining head, and... Alain coldly staring from amid the blood.
"Wu, wu..."
The ponytail girl couldn't help but tightly cover her mouth and nose, suppressing the nausea from rising in her stomach.
Tiny Mita, seeing this, was speechless, staring blankly at everything.
What happened? Cute Mita died? Alain kneeling desperately on the ground? The changes came too fast for her little head to process.
After a moment, Cool Mita came back to herself and knelt beside Alain.
The young man now had his head slightly lowered, undoubtedly hard to conceal his sadness.
"Alain... Can you tell me if she's dead?"
"..." Alain didn't answer, just kept his head down staring at the pool of blood on the ground.
Seeing this, uncontrollable tears welled in Cool Mita's eyes.
"Wu, wu..."
She understood Alain was blaming himself, regretting... sad for not saving a Mita.
But wasn't Cool Mita the same?
Alain, it's okay...
She hugged Alain's head, resting it on her chest.
It's just a short, brief defeat...
Cool Mita gritted her teeth, finally saying that "just."
"In the future... Aren't you going to save that Mita from Version 1.0F too?
That's exactly why..."
A line of clear tears slowly slid down her cheek.
"We can't stop here..."
She cupped Alain's chin, meeting his eyes,
"Right... hm?"
However, the Alain Cool Mita saw was far from what she imagined.
She thought he was keeping his head down because "real men don't cry easily," hiding his weak sobs from her.
But in reality, it wasn't as Cool Mita imagined.
The Alain in the girl's gaze showed no sadness on his face...
More accurately, there wasn't the slightest emotional fluctuation.
What impressed her was his eyes—if Cool Mita had to describe them...
[Dead fish eyes] fit Alain's gaze perfectly at the moment.
Her sadness now evaporated, Cool Mita dazedly looking at the expressionless Alain.
Why, after Cute Mita died, wasn't he sad? Could it be numbness from extreme grief?
"That guy... disgusting me was one thing, but splashing blood on me too."
Compared to the sadness of Cute Mita's departure, Alain's mind seemed focused on hygiene...
What was going on? Why?
Cool Mita was full of question marks, and Tiny Mita in her arms was even more vividly [full of question marks].
The little one now seemed confused: should I be shocked, panicked, sad, or expressionless?
After thinking for two seconds, she chose to match Alain—slumping into a deadpan face.
"Alright, let go of me first." Alain patted Cool Mita's shoulder.
The bewildered girl obediently followed his command, releasing him.
Alain stood up, disgustedly eyeing his bloodstained top.
His jacket had been used earlier as a bandage for Cool Mita; only the short-sleeved inner layer remained wearable.
He didn't want to meet Prankster Mita and Mila covered in blood.
"A-Alain..." Cool Mita saw his disgusted look and couldn't help trembling as she spoke. "Shouldn't you be sad right now? After all, Cute Mita she..."
"Oh, she's fine."
Alain said nonchalantly.
Cool Mita's gaze went blank, only able to express everything with an "Ah?"
Fine? Cute Mita's fine??!
So that Cute Mita head next to Alain was a fake?
"Hmph... Scared me."
Cool Mita let out a heavy sigh of relief, thinking the real Cute Mita had met with trouble.
"Then, where's the real Cute Mita?"
"There."
Alain pointed to a small corner of the ground and the iron pole deeply embedded in it...
"Ah?! N-No... no... no no no!" She tightly covered her mouth, shocked, looking at Alain. Her finger pointed at the iron pole, then at him, at a loss.
"Alain! Didn't that iron pole smash down? Then—the real Cute Mita isn't..."
"Don't worry."
Alain gave her a mysterious look and silently pulled out the greatsword of accelerated cleaning...
beginning to dig at the spot where the pole had smashed.
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